Posts categorized "Current Affairs"

October 28, 2012

This investigation was supported by the Investigative Fund at the
Nation Institute and by the Puffin Foundation. Elements of it appear in
Palast’s new book, Billionaires & Ballot Bandits: How to Steal an Election in 9 Easy Steps (Seven Stories). Research assistance by Zach D. Roberts, Ari Paul, Nader Atassi and Eric Wuestewald.

Mitt Romney’s opposition to the auto bailout has haunted him on the
campaign trail, especially in Rust Belt states like Ohio. There, in
September, the Obama campaign launched television ads blasting Romney’s
November 2008 New York Times op-ed, “Let Detroit Go Bankrupt.”
But Romney has done a good job of concealing, until now, the fact that
he and his wife, Ann, personally gained at least $15.3 million from the
bailout—and a few of Romney’s most important Wall Street donors made
more than $4 billion. Their gains, and the Romneys’, were
astronomical—more than 3,000 percent on their investment.

It all starts with Delphi Automotive, a former General Motors
subsidiary whose auto parts remain essential to GM’s production lines.
No bailout of GM—or Chrysler, for that matter—could have been successful
without saving Delphi. So, in addition to making massive loans to
automakers in 2009, the federal government sent, directly or indirectly,
more than $12.9 billion to Delphi—and to the hedge funds that had
gained control over it.

One of the hedge funds profiting from that bailout— $1.28 billion so
far—is Elliott Management, directed by Paul Singer. According to TheWall Street Journal,
Singer has given more to support GOP candidates—$2.3 million—than
anyone else on Wall Street this election season. His personal giving is
matched by that of his colleagues at Elliott; collectively, they have
donated $3.4 million to help elect Republicans this season, while giving
only $1,650 to Democrats. And Singer is influential with the GOP
presidential candidate; he’s not only an informal adviser but, according
to the Journal, his support was critical in helping push Representative Paul Ryan onto the ticket.

Singer, whom Fortune magazine calls a “passionate defender
of the 1%,” has carved out a specialty investing in distressed firms and
distressed nations, which he does by buying up their debt for pennies
on the dollar and then demanding payment in full. This so-called
“vulture investor” received $58 million on Peruvian debt that he snapped
up for $11.4 million, and $90 million on Congolese debt that he bought
for a mere $20 million. In the process, he’s built one of the largest
private equity firms in the nation, and over decades he’s racked up an
unusually high average return on investments of 14 percent.

Other GOP presidential hopefuls chased Singer’s endorsement, but Mitt
chased Singer with his own checkbook, investing at least $1 million
with Elliott through Ann Romney’s blind trust (it could be far more, but
the Romneys have declined to disclose exactly how much). Along the way,
Singer gained a reputation, according to Fortune, “for strong-arming his way to profit.” That is certainly what happened at Delphi.

We turn now to a major new
exposé on the cover of The Nation magazine called "Mitt Romney’s Bailout
Bonanza: How He Made Millions from the Rescue of Detroit."
Investigative reporter Greg Palast reveals how Republican presidential
nominee Mitt Romney made some $15 million on the auto bailout and that
three of Romney’s top donors made more than $4 billion for their hedge
funds from the bailout. Palast’s report is part of a film-in-progress
called "Romney’s Bailout Bonanza." Palast is the author of several
books, including recently released New York Times bestseller,
"Billionaires & Ballot Bandits: How to Steal an Election in 9 Easy
Steps." [includes rush transcript]

Greg Palast, investigative reporter who has tracked Romney’s "vulture" fund partners for five years for BBC Television’s Newsnight. He is the author of the recently released New York Times bestseller, Billionaires & Ballot Bandits: How to Steal an Election in 9 Easy Steps. His new Nation
exposé is called "Mitt Romney’s Bailout Bonanza: How Mitt and Ann Made
Millions — and Mitt’s Hedge Fund Donors Made Billions — from the
Auto-Industry Rescue that He Condemned."

September 26, 2012

Apparently, our recent panel discussion from last Saturday at Printed Matter has legs. Organized by Greg Allen with Chris Habib, and me... and a lively audience.... we tried to focus on Richard Prince's contested Canal Zone series itself, instead of becoming hopelessly embroiled in another hyper-emotional discussion about copyright. Good idea from Greg, who felt it high time we take a serious look at the actual paintings, which where coldly ignored by the very court that banished them.

I made a recording which can now be freely streamed, downloaded and redistributed via Archive.org:

Printed Matter held a panel over the weekend about Prince v. Cariou, [sic!] the
ongoing legal battle about Richard Prince’s “Canal Zone” with Joy
Garnett, Greg Allen, and Chris Habib. It’s archived online, and well
worth a listen! [Internet Archive]

Joy Garnett posted audio from the Richard Prince Canal Zone
discussion she, Chris Habib and I had Saturday night at Printed Matter.
It's available for streaming or download at the Internet Archive. OR
for remixing, autotuning, and stop-action animating, whatever you want,
since artpanelsjustwanttobefree it's public domain.

It clocks in at almost an hour and a half, and who knows what you'll
find in there. I was too high on life and drunk on power--I was running
the projector, too-- to really remember what was said. Though I do
remember something about megayachts, Perry Mason vs Law & Order; and wishing you were Rasta and/or punk. So really, something for everyone.

Many thanks to Chris and Joy, to Keith and Max and the PM Crew, and
especially to the awesome and engaged audience. We'll do it again for
either the damages hearing or the Supreme Court phase.

The English, History, and
Religion departments of Kalamazoo College announce a new,
cross-disciplinary appointment in Pre-Modern Culture. All of the
positions dealing with literature, religion, and history in the West
before 1800 have now been rolled into a single position, allowing these
three departments to expand their offerings in European and American
history and literature since 1995. The person hired to this position
will be responsible for covering all events of cultural significance in
the West from 600 CE to 1800 CE. Teaching load is 3-2, but the candidate
may offer additional courses if s/he feels that such are necessary.
Candidate should have secondary interests in sub-colonial literature
post-1995. Publications in modern Japanese architecture a plus.

Carleton College is hiring an
Assistant Professor in Modernism. Our program emphasizes a low
student-faculty ratio and we are proud of the large number of our majors
who design innovative independent studies. Faculty teach a 2-2 course
load in order to allow for plenty of student contact time and to develop
a cutting-edge curriculum. Candidates must provide evidence of
excellence in teaching and a commitment to a liberal arts education.
Tenure and promotion decisions will be based entirely on scholarly
publications and research output.

Rutgers University’s French
Department is now accepting applications for a position in 17th and/or
18th and/or 19th and/or 20th with a strong preference for a period that
students give a shit about. Successful candidates will confirm our
elusive yet steadfast commitment to interdisciplinarity, as well as be
excited about participating in our cross-cultural transnational
community of scholars. Work on globalization, intercultural
communication, gender, translation, the French Revolution, and
Jacques Rancière a must. Teaching load is 4 elementary French classes
per semester, two of which will be on-line.

College of Wooster, in rural
Ohio, has an opening for an assistant professor. We will only consider
applications from ivy-league Ph.D.s who will contribute to our elite
aura (which is all we have going for us anyway) and who will leave
within three years. Teaching load is 5/5. Preference given to those with
no teaching experience whatsoever. We are especially interested in
candidates who held research fellowships and didn’t have to even TA
while they were in graduate school. Research productivity in new hires
is discouraged as anti-collegial and will count against you for tenure.

Alfred University, a private
university in New York, is pleased to announce several vacancies or
impending-vacancies in our English department as a result of multiple
retirements and (fingers crossed!) negative tenure decisions.
Accordingly, we invite applicants in STEM fields to replace at least two
of these vacancies and to serve our university’s new Schools of
Medicine and Engineering. Salary commensurate with combined 9 salaries
of exiting/terminated faculty in English by 2014.

Additional vacancies expected in Philosophy and Romance Languages may
also allow for administrative hires in Public Relations, Faculty
Management, and Enrollment Science as well.

A judge has dismissed part of a lawsuit by the Velvet Underground, over the rights to the iconic banana image
that featured on their debut album. The band were told they do not have
a valid copyright claim, though they may continue pursuing the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts for trademark infringement.

In
January, members of the Velvet Underground filed a lawsuit in New York,
alleging that Warhol's banana print on the cover their 1967 album, has
become "a symbol" of the defunct band. They demanded that Warhol's
organisation stop licensing the image for use on goods such as iPod
covers, and pay them for past licensing.

In response to
this suit, the Warhol Foundation issued a binding legal covenant,
promising to never sue the Velvet Underground, or related parties, for
copyright infringement. They offered indemnity "under the current,
former, or any future copyright law of the United States … [and]
regardless of whether said claim arises from VU's or any other [related]
party's past, current or future conduct".

On Friday, US
district court judge Alison Nathan ruled that because of this covenant,
there is no longer a copyright dispute. "Without a specific dispute over
imminent activity, a declaratory judgment here would simply be 'an
opinion advising what the law would be under a hypothetical state of
facts,'" Nathan wrote (via the Hollywood Reporter). "The [US] Constitution gives this court no power to issue such an opinion."

It
is still not clear who is the legal rights-holder for the banana
design: Nathan has simply ruled that for the moment, it's irrelevant.
The Velvet Underground can only proceed with the trademark aspect of
their case, arguing that the Foundation's use of the banana causes
"confusion as to … affiliation, approval or sponsorship" by the group.

The
Warhol Foundation has responded by pointing to the fact that the Velvet
Underground broke up in 1972. Trademarks are apparently only relevant
if they are linked to an ongoing business, and the group is scarcely a
going concern. According to court papers, it has been 11 years since the
band last licensed the banana image, for an Absolut Vodka advert.

Last month, in what may have been a related move, the Velvet Underground announced plans to reissue The Velvet Underground and Nico on 1 October.

THE MESSAGE WAS BRIEF. Typed as if for telex, a 1967 memo from
this magazine’s editor, Philip Leider, responded to a writer’s pitch
with characteristically lapidary concision: “I can’t imagine Artforum
ever doing a special issue on electronics or computers in art, but one
never knows.” And, really, how could one know? The contingency of the
moment is right there in black and white. Leider’s skeptical words said
one thing, but the memo’s blocky, futuristic design, as if auguring a
world defined by computer terminals and communications media, said
another.

The magazine Leider helmed—which, with this issue, marks
its fiftieth anniversary—was committed to the most advanced art of the
day. In that sense, Artforum was very much dedicated to writing
the future, whatever that might look like. So it’s safe to assume that
it wasn’t a discomfort with the likes of punch cards that gave Leider
pause. Rather, he was rightfully loath to pin art too closely to any one
kind of media or technology—just as we are loath to do now, whether to
avoid lapsing into a retrograde medium specificity, on the one hand, or
technological determinism, on the other. Today we still cringe at
manufactured genres like “computer art,” even if art as we know it could
barely exist without computers. Technophilia and technophobia alike
pervade museums, galleries, and art-fair booths; the language of new
media and social media—platform, network, algorithm, sharing—abounds in press releases and exhibition titles, slaking our thirst for 1960s-cum-1990s
cyber-euphoria. At the same time, Leider’s doubt echoes in the
distance, a critical reminder that art’s affair with media is always
prone to historical amnesia, to lazy conflations of vastly different
positions and practices, to abrupt shifts from the faddish embrace of
progress to a pining for the obsolete. We are nostalgic; we want to move
on.

This special issue of Artforum aims to move on but not
forget. In the following pages, we’ll take stock of five decades of
conversation and contestation that helped forge art’s manifold
possibilities and that now stand as a vital record of history. More
broadly, we’ll reflect on the past fifty years of media, technology, and
art, from the Plexiglas and Porta-Paks of the ’60s to the networked art
of the present. For the story of media is, in many ways, the story of
contemporary art—both its history and its future.

Shock value aside, the issue is chock full of things I want to read right away, not to mention to assign to my graduate students. Did I mention that it's really thick? Yes, art advertizing is up, friends: you can prop open your studio fire door with the thing.